The goal of this research is to understand the molecular mechanism of the development of visual system and associated genetic defects in man. We are using positional cloning strategies to isolate the genetic loci for x-linked eye diseases with a particular focus on Retinitis Pigmentosa and Ocular Albinism. Subtraction cDNA cloning is being used to identify retina and fetal eye specific cDNAs. Expressed sequence tags for eye-specific cDNAs are being developed for genome mapping and for identifying candidate disease.